The Labyrinth
The contents of this document are based almost entirely on hypothesis and unverified theory. Extremely little about the Labyrinth can be confirmed as fact, and plausible explanations for even the most simplistic phenomena are typically unable to be determined or eventually proven to be false. The following are the most commonly believed traits and trends displayed by the Labyrinth, to the degree that House Pyxis can currently comprehend them. House Pyxis takes no responsibility for any discrepancies between the contents of this document and the reality that may be observed while exploring the Labyrinth, and is not liable for any injury, dismemberment, death, disappearance, mental scarring, death, psychic malfunction, time-travel, reincarnation, mutation, or death that may occur while within the Labyrinth as a result of these discrepancies or otherwise. Description The Labyrinth is a series of complex subterranean tunnels within Lodestone. Due to the spatial, temporal, and logistical complexities associated with exploring the Labyrinth, extensive exploration of the tunnels is exceedingly difficult, and the extent to which tunnels extend below the surface is undetermined. Their origin, like the rest of Lodestone, is unknown. The design of the Labyrinth’s tunnels vary wildly throughout their length. In some places the tunnels appear to be natural, while in others the stone is smooth or features undecipherable carvings in strange, foreign architectural styles. The majority of the tunnel’s composition is smooth lodestone, however significant variance can sometimes be seen when approaching a Location of Interest Exploration Entrances Entrances to the Labyrinth appear and disappear seemingly at random, and as such access to the tunnels is both unpredictable and unreliable. A few locations across the Habitats have been identified as common points where entrances tend to appear, however access to the majority of these areas are typically closed to the public and reserved exclusively for usage as necessary by the Wardens to perform their duties. While many of these entrances are completely new doorways, hatches, or holes that appear to instantly manifest out of thin air in the walls and floor of the Habitats, other entrances may manifest within already constructed openings and thresholds. It is not unheard of for the occasional resident of Lodestone to return to their home after a day of work only to find their front door now leads to the underground tunnels of the Labyrinth, and be forced to enter the abode through a backdoor or window until the entrance eventually returns to normal. There have been reports of entrances appearing in openings as small and mundane as kitchen drawers, garbage cans, or bathroom toilets, although the frequency of these types of entrance manifestation are largely unconfirmed. While it is theorized that entrances may manifest on areas of the Lodestone outside of the Habitats, none have been reliably reported to this date. The specific entrance used to access the Labyrinth does not seem to be of consequence, as all entrances appear to lead to the same set of tunnels and all Locations of Interest within the Labyrinth can theoretically be reached from any starting point. Difficulties of Exploring Exploring the Labyrinth comes with a unique set of difficulties and dangers, unseen anywhere else in the Sector. Most notable is the fact that the tunnels never maintain a consistent layout, and appear to subtly shift and change even as explorers move through them. As one travels further inward, the tunnels quickly begin adhering to strange, non-euclidean designs almost assured to confuse and disorient those who venture into them, and deeper within the Labyrinth extreme spatial anomalies begin to occur. In addition, as one proceeds further into the tunnels and “deeper” into Lodestone, the physics of the environment begin to change and become unreliable. Among the many strange phenomena that have been recorded to occur in the depths of the Labyrinth, gravity has been seen to become inconsistent, the laws of thermodynamics and conservation of energy begin to fail, and time dilation/compression commonly occur. Venturing into the Labyrinth, even when merely venturing to a previously discovered Location of Interest, is extremely dangerous, and expeditions to explore it for new Locations of Interest are seen as admirable attempts to discover the secrets of the unknowable planetoid. Inhabitants Although rumors of enormous underground forests and mysterious ghostly residents within the Labyrinth have persisted in Pyxis society since some of the very first expeditions into the tunnels, no native life has been recorded or confirmed to exist within the depths. However, the ship traffic to Lodestone from other systems has introduced several varieties of foreign organisms to the tunnels since their discovery, the most notable and dangerous of which are the Labyrinth Rats. Tunneling Exploration into the deeper levels of the Labyrinth via excavation, tunneling, or mining efforts have all proven ineffective. Not only do the unique magnetic properties of lodestone make tunneling into the material dangerous and time consuming, tunnels created in this manner have never been observed to intersect with the Labyrinth, even when constructed directly adjacent to an active entrance. In addition, any and all excavated areas of the Lodestone, from basements to tunnels, will eventually disappear without warning, never to be seen again. It is theorized, among other possibilities, that this may be a result of the same spatial shuffling or rearrangement that affects the Labyrinth, or possibly that the Labyrinth absorbs such subterranean places into itself and incorporates them into its layout. Locations of Interest While the vast majority of the Labyrinth is comprised of nearly identical long winding tunnels, on rare occasions one may stumble into wholly unique areas or chambers. The majority of these chambers contain strange phenomena or anomalous objects, and as such range from mundane and harmless to undiscovered death traps where the very laws of existence seem to conspire against those who stumble within. The official discovery and recording of these Locations of Interest are the ultimate goal of all Seekers who venture into the Labyrinth for exploration. The most well known of these unique areas are the Habitat Control Rooms, but countless strange locations have been discovered, or are rumored to exist deep within the Labyrinth’s depths. Some other examples confirmed to exist through repeated visitation are * A massive, miles wide cavern with many entrances and variable gravity. The gravity any particular visitor experiences always matches the entrance used to access the chamber, meaning visitors may see others journeying across the ceiling or far walls. * A ridge overlooking a small pond containing radioactive ooze of a currently unknown composition. * A small room containing an iron bell that, when rung, ages all listeners approximately 400 years. * due to graphic content * A series of natural hot springs. Due to the rampant rumors and tall tales within Pyxis as to the existence of certain Locations of Interest, the method with which they are officially declared as discovered is fairly strict. The easiest method to receive official recognition is to reliably be able to return to the Location of Interest in question. While the initial discovery of a Location of Interest is quite difficult, returning becomes significantly easier the more times the journey is made or the longer period of time ones spends there. Eventually, in cases of extremely frequent use, one can merely concentrate on the memory of the location and eventually will find themselves having wandered there. Barring this, in extreme circumstances official recognition can be achieved by submitting undeniable evidence of the location’s existence to the Keep Wardens for review and approval. The Wardens selected for this task are known to be rigorously brutal during the process of assessing the quality of the presented evidence, and as such few Locations of Interest are confirmed to exist via this method. Habitat Control Rooms Of the fourteen various Habitats scattered across the surface of Lodestone, currently only three are operational. To bring a Habitat to operational status, it is believed that its Control Room must be discovered within the Labyrinth and reactivated. Reactivating the Control Rooms for Habitats Event-1, Horizon-A, and Keelside has served to reinitialize life support systems within their respective habitat, allowing them to be permanently habitable by humanity. While the three active Habitats have all established largely ideal environments for human habitation, it is unknown if this was their natural default state or whether they have done so in response to the human life on Lodestone. As a result, it is unknown whether the results of Control Room reactivation for the other eleven Habitats would be identical to the previous instances, or even if they possess any life support systems at all. Habitat Event-1 The Control Room for Habitat Event-1 was the first discovered by Pyxis explorers, initially encountered in 3113 during the extensive expeditions into the Labyrinth following the discovery of the Lodestone in 3111. The Event-1 Control Room is a small chamber, cluttered with forign machinery of no discernable purpose or function. Even the methods with which one would attempt to operate many of the devices is unknown, as the vast majority seem to possess little to no components what would allow interaction or input with the device. Although initial attempts to interface with the machinery were met with complete failure, these interactions brought the Control Room back online, reactivating the basic functions of Habitat Event 1 on the surface and allowing the occupation of the Lodestone to officially begin. However, it was another seven years before members of the House were able to discover a method to activate a small portion of the devices with any noticeable effect. This came in the form of the immensely complex series of almost entirely unrelated actions that resulted in the activation of the Lodestone’s Drivespace Shift System for the first time. While the Helm Wardens have managed replication of this phenomena has occurred with semi-reliable success, it is still unknown if the drivespace shift is an intended function of the machinery, a side effect of a yet unnoticed function, or an entirely accidental outcome unintended by the unknown beings who constructed the machinery. Other than the several pieces of machinery incorporated into the process required to activate the drivespace shift, no attempts to interact with the other devices have produced any known effect, leaving the purpose of the vast majority of the chamber’s contents still entirely unknown. Habitat Horizon-A The Control Room for Habitat Horizon-A was discovered shortly following the activation of Habitat Event-1, as more and more Nobles arrived at Lodestone to aid in the colonization efforts and expeditions into the Labyrinth became increasingly common. The Horizon-A Control Room appears to be comprised of a series of separate chambers of varied size and shape. The total number of chambers is currently unknown, and the sequence of interconnected rooms appears to extend further beyond the Control Room’s entrance than can be currently measured, or possibly into infinity. Each chamber is filled with a vast array of mundane operation mechanisms. Unlike the contents of the Control Room for Habitat Event-1, in the vast majority of cases the method of interaction with each device within the Habitat Horizon-A Control Room is readily apparent. While buttons of various size, shape, color, and composition are most common, other varieties of simple apparatus are present, such as levers, switches, dials. Testing as to the functions of these apparatuses is handled by the Lore Wardens, and is still ongoing. Keelside The Control Room for the Keelside Habitat was accidentally discovered by an anonymous Pyxis explorer with ties to the entities who would later form The Sublight Syndicate. As the discovery of the Control Room and subsequent activation of the Keelside Habitat were never officially reported, the Control Room is still listed as undiscovered on all official documents and descriptions of the chamber are difficult to obtain. While it can be assumed the leaders of the Sublight Syndicate and the more criminally inclined members of the Lodestone’s government’s upper echelon are in possession of the true description of the room, for the vast majority of Pyxis who are aware of Keelside’s activation the Control Room’s design and contents are an eternal mystery. Category:House Pyxis Category:Pyxis Category:Lodestone